Bespoke software drives a specialist furniture company’s growth

  • We replaced unreliable Excel spreadsheets with a reliable core business system
  • The new bespoke system meets very specific industry needs, given the lack of existing off-the-shelf options
  • We continue to support and develop the system, leveraging our business insight
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Our client’s problem

Dodds & Shute are an interior design company that specialise in sourcing the most sustainable products. With big aspirations for growth, they wanted to streamline their manual processes and needed a comprehensive and secure system to hold all their critical information and data – from order management and cash flow forecasting through to invoicing and reporting. Previously, they were largely dependent on Microsoft Excel and Dropbox – not a scaleable solution.

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What we did

The close working relationship we established with Dodds & Shute meant we understood their business ambitions and the priorities for their system. Over four years we built, developed and refined a bespoke software system that today is crucial to their business operations. As the business continues to grow, we continue to adapt and flex the system to meet the industry-specific needs of this best-in-class operator.

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“We’re quite a streamlined, small team but we’re able to take on big projects because of the sort of thing that the system can do for us.”

Nick Shute

Co Founder & Managing Director, Dodds & Shute

The transformation journey

Business process analysis

We captured the aspirations of the business and understood current practices, then designed processes and systems to support those aspirations.

Bespoke software

We developed a bespoke system from the ground up, created specifically for the business.

Continuous improvement

We built on the system's initial success by adapting and evolving it to support business growth in the following years.

Consultancy support

Today we work closely with the business, consulting on and delivering IT and business strategy.

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The results

The new system enables Dodds & Shute to deliver projects with much greater efficiency. The access to real-time data gives them an accurate and crucial picture of project profitability. As the business's needs evolve, we continue to adapt and extend the system.

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“We can now offer analysis and reporting that I don’t think any of our competitors can. With pretty unique information, it’s making our jobs easier.”

Nick Shute

Co Founder & Managing Director, Dodds & Shute

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Services used

Business process analysis

Discover exactly where and how your business can be improved, with a rigorous and impartial analysis of your business processes.

Bespoke software

Software designed specifically for your business dramatically improves your productivity and supercharges your growth.

Bespoke FileMaker build

Optimise your business with a bespoke FileMaker system designed for the way you work.

Strategy consultancy

We can assess your current systems and propose changes that will simplify and streamline how you work.

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Each month the Decent Group newsletter delivers practical insights into how software systems can help you run a better business. It’s a quick way to check on your progress, identify business benefits you’re missing, and gain inspiration for the road ahead. 

We typically explore how SMEs can (and should) leverage business systems to achieve tangible benefits. We dive into a recent project and what it delivered for our client, with lessons for businesses like yours. We'll also highlight the new tools and solutions our team has been developing and the impact they’re having on our clients (and ourselves). And we cover any relevant FileMaker news and what actions you can take in response.

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